New construction. Lights will be adjustable, yield is important but so are THC and Terps.. Have no problems with environmentals
Yeah, If you're building a 50x100' grow or there abouts, chances are you have the money to do it right the first time. Or second at least. Meaning you’ll have high ceilings (at least 10'), you'll have system controls to keep everything dialed in at all times.
With that said you're going to get a ton of recommendations pointing towards white lights like cobs (most likely a Cob Salad SMH), anything with the Fluence or Gavita, HE (high electrical efficiency) spectrum. Majority of HE units are just this spectrum in order to maintain the highest possible numbers on paper. Others may recommend saving money on DIY. (not a savings imo for what i want, actually much more expensive) you can't diy & pass electrical inspections though.
Unfortunately most of these same companies are only copying Fluence as its the first one to do so & be very popular, enough to copy either that or Gavita (poooie).
Similar to how all these QB's popped up over night copying HLG's ideas, then surpassing them in spectrum & even design on some.
Thing to remember, from what I have seen over the past 7 yrs. Or so is companies starting out with the most simple, inexpensive builds. Plug n play that is easily mistaken for DIY or just plain simple w/o a True Horticultural Spectrum. But each yr they get these poor growers to upgrade by saying we have finally discovered what this wavelength does & it will be in next yrs Gen- 2-4. SMH! All based on customer feedback whom the majority do not know what they're doing unfortunately. How to grow awesome sure, but not a clue when it comes to led. Unfortunately White leds of HE are human lighting for commercial use & are a limited full spectrum. Limited enough to see pretty big differences in SBS's or comparisons. Sure, they grow fire that outdoes hps more often then not but it can be better.
So for seven yrs I have watched this happen, all while I bought the right spectrum & top end components to begin with (5yr bumper to bumper including) & have never had to upgrade for anything more then new models with better spread & a slightly tweaked spectrum availability. Just cuz i wanted to, not cuz i needed to. The results on my old models still spank my new models from other companies.
Electrical Efficiency has always been the same or better while producing a much more expensive spectrum & build that provides the plants with natural growth traits & insane bag appeal.
This yr a bunch of new fixtures are hitting & offer outside par. They include a fuller spectrum outside the normalized par region of only 400-700nm. Which is Limited & Deficient in primary wavelengths to get the job done to the best of its ability.
One major problem is these companies are simply going off customer feedback & have NO Clue how to use their new spectrum. Rendering it semi-useless to a grower whom also does not know. Usually the biggest HPS growers are the ones to start at a lesser led starting point then others whom are seeking the best results. Cobs for instance. Maybe they think start simple n move they way up? Proven? Idk. But its usually enough to get them to switch or about 50/50. Had they used a Horticultural light instead of a warehouse light, they would have been allot more impressed & did better. Less of a confused state as to staying with hps.
I would not go solely off electrical efficiency & par #'s either. As every $650 cheap Alibaba light (not worth the savings imo w/ garbo warranty & poor builds) can provide the same par #'s as a $1200, Gavita or any of these 100 pop up overnighters that surpassed them in E.Efficency. But for how long? Why u say? Poor build quality, low thermal mngmt, tightly knit diodes, but unfortunately rarely does a customer have the chance to compare cuz they cheaped out to begin with. Fake diodes from what was promised, the list goes on for Alibaba lights. One could get lucky providing they did their research but would still be jammed up on warranty (most important part). No, lowering your light to compensate for Efficiency is not optimal despite the rumors from growers who get that info from. Companies that simply never grew. Primarily using boards Higher hung,, the more light gets intra canopy.
The fixtures i speak of are being released in about a month & are from one of the only Canna-Specific companies around,, touting it when it still was practically a felony in some places or highly looked down upon. They will have the Very Most Comprehensive, Full Spectrum available to date (again), 2.6, umols/j even after fancy spectrum. IP-67, FULL Certs. Fully, detachable to make x4, x2 bar lights each that have sliding & pivoting bars for the highest versatile available to spread that 900w. Bars can be individually used as well for sidelights or whatever. Mine covers a 6.5x5 independently & a 7'x5'8" with crosslighting in place. These configurations provide me with 750-1100 OooohMoles at the canopy after stretch. Sure, u can put the system together for a super powerful 44"x4' light & raise it higher. They all have multiple dimmers in Gen 2 rather then the one on Gen1. Seperate UVA control via ac outlet connected to allow it to be on a timer. Dimming available on the UVA as well as ir/flash for bed-time, lights out. Seperate drivers for a no bs light that can keep plugging if one goes down. MW drivers rarely do.
They also utilize custom everything right down to the extra beefy Extrusions that keep the highest spaced diodes in the industry cooler then others by a significant amount. They own the custom mold. 108•f as as opposed to the common 140-160•F you'll see in the competition or more poular do to mktg, social media & prob sales.
This increases the diode longevity by quite a bit, leading to longer lasting output before degradation kicks in. Also, it has real high transparency gasgegted glass over the diodes for protection. Quick wipe down with a rag, no elements to ruin the fragile diodes. Others offer either nothing or a plastic wrap looking coating. Some may have Conformal coatings which may be better then acrylic or poly covers. But they all fade as well as cannot handle the uva. Real heavy duty glass does not.
Thc , Terps n Bag appeal are through the roof too due to the spectrum used. Sbs's show 6-8oz more per 4x4 then competing, equal efficiencies & par at the canopy lights that use the Typical HE spectrum. So far I've seen this by me & another (unbiased grower here).
May i suggest you buy x3 different lights. Compare them & then make your purchase. Just remember, if you buy x3 of the same spectrum, don't expect much different results.
The Company i recommended is Amare Tech. New website going up so if you want updated specs on the new models just lmk.
Hope that helps bud! Good luck! 5000k sq' is No Joke! Congrats!
Its a long read but detrimental to a grow like you speak of.
